All posts tagged: emptiness

“He leaned on the top of his walking stick and worshiped God.” {Hebrews 11:21} Darkened by layers of skins and blankets, his tent felt cool, despite the irrepressible heat of the desert. Here and there strands of sunlight pierced through cracks in the coverings and like gleaming pillars, stood as sentinels around the temporary room. There he stood, ancient as the desert that birthed him, leaning upon his cane and with a whisper spoke the future over Joseph’s sons, his grandsons. He passed the paternal words on to his sons, his earthly possessions were no doubt divided and Jacob, the last of the trio of the Hebrew forefathers, was empty-handed leaning on a walking stick standing barefoot on an animal skin floor. One hundred forty seven years old. Finally empty handed. Finally worshiping God. Jacob had become an old man. Illness and age moved in and set up residence in his body. He was in Egypt, a foreigner there, yet welcomed by the Egyptian government because of his son, Joseph’s, preeminent position just beneath King …